This hearty, healthy Butternut Squash Chicken Stew with Quinoa is perfect comfort food for cold weather days! It can be made in the Slow Cooker, Instant Pot, or on the Stovetop.

Original post was published in March 2014. This is an updated and improved version.

This is one of the recipes that made me fall in love with slow cooker meals. Yes, despite receiving a beautiful slow cooker and accompanying recipe book for our wedding, I didn’t get the whole magic of slow cooking until some 3 years later.

In our first year of marriage I used it maybe twice. Then we decided to travel and had a garage sale where I practically gave away our first slow cooker.

Funny enough, I started reading food blogs while traveling abroad – probably because I was missing comfort food from home. And that was also when Pinterest first became popular.

Suddenly I was seeing mouthwatering slow cooker recipes everywhere. I couldn’t wait to give all of them a try.

Luckily, when we returned my mother-in-law got herself a new fancy slow cooker which allowed you to brown meats before slow cooking them.

So we got her previous one and I started using it at least once a week (!) right away. We had crazy busy working schedules at the time, so it was amazing to come home to ready-cooked meals.

This wonderful Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Chicken Quinoa Stew (what a mouthful – I know) came into being one day when I really felt like combining some butternut squash with quinoa.

This sounds so cliché but I literally threw a bunch of ingredients into the slow cooker without much of a clue what to expect in the end. Well, we absolutely loved the result – a flavorful, slightly spicy and hearty stew.

Perfect for cold Canadian winter days that don’t seem to want to end. We loved it so much that I made it again the following week. That time I actually paid attention and wrote down what I ‘threw’ together.

Now, almost 4 years later I revisited the recipe. There are over 60 comments on the recipe – mostly glowing reviews – but I wanted to test a few things in order to be able to address all questions.

I ended up making a few tweaks to the recipe. Mainly, I reduced the amount of chicken breast, butternut squash and broth while leaving everything else pretty much the same.

This should solve the issue a couple of commenters had, where they weren’t able to fit everything into their crockpot. At the same time it also eliminates any possibility of blandness (1 comment).

Secondly, I also wanted to test out alternative cooking methods. While this was originally a chicken and butternut squash slow cooker recipe, I wanted to see if it can also be converted to a Instant Pot and stovetop recipe.

Spoiler alert: Yes, it can! Find the full instructions for each method in the recipe box below.

How to use the Instant Pot as Slow Cooker

Also, I got to try out my Instant Pot’s slow cook function for the first time. Can you believe, that after the all my gloating about slow cookers above, I don’t actually have one anymore?

Multifunctionality is what sold me on the Instant Pot in the first place, but then I never ended up using the slow cook mode until now.

Luckily, everything went well and smooth on the first try. Thanks to the wealth of wisdom that can be found in Pressure Cooker Facebook groups.

Through those I learnt that slow cooker LOW equals NORMAL (not LESS!) in the Instant Pot’s slow cook mode. And HIGH equals MORE.

Can you freeze this Chicken Butternut Squash Slow Cooker Stew?

No matter which way you cook this Chicken and Butternut Squash stew (Instant Pot, slow cooker or stovetop), any leftovers can certainly be frozen for a later time.

Use airtight containers but preferably no glass. I actually like 1-quart yogurt containers best for freezing any kind of soup or stew.

Just keep in mind that the butternut squash is already really soft. So after freezing, defrosting and stirring everything up, the cubes will probably break down into much smaller pieces.

Kitchen Gadgets Used:

These days I don’t have a separate slow cooker anymore. So for the slow cooked version I used my Instant Pot as well!! Keep in mind that a normal slow cooker’s LOW and HIGH settings equal NORMAL and MORE with the Instant Pot.

When made on the stovetop nothings beats a Dutch oven for making stew! I used my beloved Marquette Castings pot.

In the video you see me stirring up the ingredients with a gorgeous olive wood utensil. I have this set.

VIDEO: How to Make Butternut Squash Chicken Stew

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Butternut Squash Chicken Stew - Slow Cooker, Instant Pot, or Stovetop

This hearty, healthy Butternut Squash Chicken Stew with Quinoa is perfect comfort food for cooler Fall days! It can be made in the Slow Cooker, Instant Pot, or on the Stovetop.

Instant Pot

Select 'Saute' to heat the Instant Pot. Once 'Hot' displays add the oil, then stir in onion, garlic, diced chicken and all spices. Saute until the onion has softened.

Add butternut squash cubes, quinoa, diced tomatoes, and broth. Then stir to combine and add the bay leaf on top.

Close the lid and turn the pressure valve to 'Sealing' position. Cook on 'Manual' mode on high pressure for 5 minutes. (Mine takes about 15 minutes to come up to pressure before the timer starts counting down).

When the cooking time is up, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes before turning the pressure valve to release any remaining pressure.

Stir in fresh parsley and serve with a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Stovetop

Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pot (I used my Dutch Oven) on medium. Add the oil and stir in onion, garlic, and diced chicken. Add all the spices and saute until the is onion softened.

Yes, leftover can totally be frozen. Just keep in mind that the butternut squash is already really soft. So after freezing, defrosting and stirring everything up, the cubes will probably break down into much smaller pieces.

Made this last night. My husband (who needs gluten free) went back for seconds. I did cut it in half. I should have left the spice as is. It was a little bland. And I did put 2 chicken breast. That is what I had thawed..But put in the 1 cup quinoa.. it filled my 6 qt crock pot.

Hi Barbara, I just retested the recipe (after almost 4 years) and made some adjustments that I think will help. I reduced the amount of chicken, squash and broth a little while leaving all the seasoning the same. So I think this way you may fit a full recipe without any blandness

I made this for my lunches this week and it is SO GOOOD! My crockpot cooks hot so I took the chicken out early and shredded it in my kitchen aid with the wide beater attachment and then added it in after the squash was as soft as I wanted it. I am definetly looking forward to eating this all week!! Thanks for the recipe 🙂

Made this tonight for the ‘cold’ weather we’re having in south FL…… hubs loved it! My mom wasn’t keen on the curry but we’re fans. Would prob throw in some kale next time for some green. Thanks for sharing! Will post on fb too.

AWESOME dish! I am making it right now as I write this … I added a peeled and cubed granny smith apple just for a pop of sweetness to go with the squash. I’ll keep ya posted on how it turned out. Meanwhile, the aroma is fantastic!

This recipe looks amazing! I am really looking forward to making this! I am looking to make something a bit thicker than stew. Do you think simply reducing the amount of chicken broth would do the trick or is it necessary to include all 7 cups? Any advice on how I could make the recipe a little thicker from the start?

We made this last night and it was fantastic. I used kobocha squash which is a firmer than butternut so it stayed together quite well and has a great flavour (some say even better than butternut!). Thanks for sharing this recipe.

Hmm…maybe you can puree some of the squash and stir it back in to thicken up? I do that with potato soup to make it creamy without actually adding cream. Otherwise, you can always make a cornstarch or flour slurry with a cold little water and stir it into the stew. Similar to thickening sauces.

I am always on the lookout for healthy & tasty recipes for my family and this one is awesome!! The entire house smelled so good as it was cooking and the taste was just as good as the smell. 🙂 This will be a “Keep” in my recipe files – with one minor change….the next time I will cut back on the cayenne pepper & red pepper flakes. I am a wimp when it comes to spicy and it was just a bit too much for me. I also included the link in a healthy living program that I am a part of. Thank you for such a great recipe!

This recipe sounds great, and I have it in my crockpot right now. One question — how big is your slow cooker? I put 1/2 cup quinoa in and everything else, and I only had room for 4 cups of broth. My pot is filled to the top, and I am pretty worried about the quinoa expanding and having a disaster. My crock pot is an average size and other recipe I’ve tried I have had room to spare.

I made this for the hubby and I this past Sunday and it was awesome! We added extra garlic and cooked it and the onions in the fat from the chicken for a little extra flavor. Between the two of us, the whole batch was gone in a couple days!

This is SOOO Good!!! I happened to have some chicken thighs thawing when I came upon this recipe last night, so made it today. YUM!!! Thank you!
p.s. I found pre-cubed butternut squash at the grocery today- 2 pkgs = to about 1 medium-large squash.

Hi Regina, I made this tonight and love the flavor. The butternut squash was not as soft as I anticipated. I placed frozen chicken at the bottom and cooked on high for 4 hours. How firm was your butternut squash? Thanks for sharing! Will definitely make this again.

Mmmm…I actually had the opposite case. Mu squash cubes were so soft, I had to watch not to over-stir otherwise they would all have turned into mush. Maybe adding the chicken frozen really slowed down the cooking process? When I need to quickly thaw something, I just put it in a ziploc in hot water in the sink while I get everything else ready.

Found your recipe via Meg duerksen’s blog (www.megduerksen.com), currently have this in the crockpot now! Four hours is too long to wait! Thanks for sharing! I’ll be sure to check out more on your blog